Now, this is a bit of a deceiving title. You would think this would be about my wedding. However, you would be wrong. The Wedding People is the last book that I finished. Yup, this is a book review. Hopefully I can remember the details I want to share because I finished this book a while ago. But all blogs got pushed back while I planned the wedding. So, let’s talk about this book that isn’t in my usual wheelhouse.
Summary of The Wedding People
The Wedding People is a contemporary fiction written by Alison Espach. We follow Phoebe Stone – a woman who has lived a very normal life. She was a professor, had been married to a professor, and planned out everything. After her husband leaves her, she falls apart. With previous mental health issues, she decides that she’s done. She books a room at a hotel called the Cornwall and without packing anything, goes to the hotel. She gets there and finds out the entire place has been booked for a wedding. After the bride meets her and finds out she isn’t a guest, she asks what Phoebe is doing there. Phoebe’s answer – she’s there to kill herself.
The Bride Says No
Clearly the bride to be, Lila Wintrop, is not okay with this plan. She has planned every detail of the wedding week and will not let Phoebe ruin her wedding. As the story progresses, Lila and Phoebe become close, confiding in each other and before she knows it, Phoebe is now involved in the wedding. And she starts living in a way she has never lived before. Phoebe now has to figure out what life could look like for her.
What I Liked About The Wedding People
This was actually a fun read….or listen. I audiobooked this one. The characters were witty and at times, funny. They were not perfect characters. There was no “good” character. All of them had their issues. But what I loved about that was that they were realistic. I was invested. Even though there was a lot of predictability in this book, I wanted to know how it would end. And the ending. That was so fantastically written. But of course, I can’t tell you without spoiling it.
Not My Favourites
As fun a story as this was, the way it was written was rather choppy and annoying. There were many times that it would say who said something after each person. For example (but not from the book) “I wish it would rain,” Jane said. “But I prefer the sun,” Austin said. “Rain makes things grow,” Jane said. You get the idea. I found that frustrating to go through. There was one scene that I found so weird and out there that I actually wondered why the scene was written that way.
Final Rating and Thought of The Wedding People
I gave The Wedding People a 4 star rating. It was fun, funny, sad, and all the emotions. I laughed and cried with these characters. It was different from my usual reads, and maybe that’s what I needed. I loved seeing the growth of the characters, and seeing how they dealt with issues was interesting. There’s not much else to add.
What’s Next
I am slowly making my way through another book. Honestly, I wish I could just sit and read for hours. Right now, it’s not that I don’t have the time. It’s that I don’t have the attention span for it. I tried to read a bunch the other day, but barely made it through 3 chapters. Finding my love of reading seems to be elusive. But, I am writing more again, so that’s good. Maybe I can make some things happen with my novel. Anything can happen, if I try.
